Tag: James E. McDonald

Project Colorado Posted on

1967: The overlooked UFO wave and the Colorado Project

Presented by RICHARD H. HALL ABSTRACT A major wave of UFO sightings occurred in 1967; even by official Air Force figures it was the 4th largest in terms of sightings reported, yet no one talks about it. The special significance of the 1967 wave is that it occurred during the one full year of investigations by the University of Colorado UFO Project, and everyone deferred to the project is looking for “answers.” The only answer was the Condon Report. This study analyzes the wave and demonstrates that the Colorado Project had ample case material to investigate during its lifetime, yet failed miserably to accomplish “scientific investigation.” At the same time, publicity about the project obscured the sighting wave. INTRODUCTION The “Great UFO Wave of […] Read More

Physical Evidence Posted on

1968: If UFOs are real, shouldn’t they produce some real physical effects?

If UFOs are real, shouldn’t they produce some real physical effects? James McDonald, Statement on UFOs to U.S. House Committee on Science and Aeronautics, 1968 Symposium on UFOs Again, the answer is that they do. There are rather well-authenticated cases spanning a wide variety of “physical effects.” Car-stopping cases are one important class. UFOs have repeatedly been associated with ignition failures and light-failures of cars and trucks which came near UFOs or near which the UFOs moved. I would estimate that one could assemble a list of four or five dozen such instances from various parts of the world. Interference with radios and TV receptions have been reported many times in connection with UFO sightings. There are instances where UFOs have been reported as […] Read More

Physical Evidence Posted on

1968: Why UFOs Aren’t Tracked by Radar?

James McDonald, Statement on UFOs to U.S. House Committee on Science and Aeronautics, 1968 Symposium on UFOs The skeptic who asks this question, and many do, is asking a very reasonable question. With so much radar equipment deployed all over the world, and especially within the United States, it seems sensible to expect that, if there are any airborne devices maneuvering in our airspace, they ought to show up on radars once in a while. They do indeed and have been doing so for all of the two decades that radar has been in widespread use. Here, as with so many other general misconceptions about the true state of the UFO problem, we encounter disturbingly large amounts of misinformation. As with other categories of […] Read More

Dr. J. Allen Hynek Posted on

1985: Close Encounter with Dr. J. Allen Hynek

By Dennis Stacy An Interview With The Dean 1985 Re-Edited for CUFON by Dale Goudie 1991 For over two decades, from 1948 to 1969, Dr. J. Allen Hynek was a consultant in astronomy to the United States Air Force. The subject of his advice, however, was not the fledgling space program or even the moon and stars above, but Unidentified Flying Objects. In 1973 he founded the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) and had served as Director and editor of its journal, “International UFO Reporter.” STACY: Dr. Hynek, as a scientist, you go back as far with the UFO phenomenon as probably anyone alive today. Exactly how did that relationship begin? HYNEK: That’s an easy story to tell. In the spring of 1948, I […] Read More

Science in Default Posted on

1969: SCIENCE IN DEFAULT Part 1

22 YEARS OF INADEQUATE UFO INVESTIGATIONS James E. McDonald, Institute of Atmospheric Physics University of Arizona, Tucson (Material presented at the Symposium on UFOs, 134th Meeting, AAAS, Boston, Dec, 27, 1969) Part 1 of 2 Parts AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, 134th MEETING Subject: Science in Default: 22 Years of Inadequate UFO Investigations Author: James E. McDonald, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences Address: The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721  Time: 9:00 a.m., December 27, 1969 Place: Sheraton Plaza Ballroom Program: General Symposium, Unidentified Flying Objects Convention Address: Sheraton Plaza Hotel RELEASE TIME A.M. December 28      No scientifically adequate investigation of the UFO problem has been carried out during the entire 22 years that have now passed since the first extensive wave […] Read More